The End of an Era.

This post is emotional for me because it deals with the loss of two things I hold very dear. I am being a bit overdramatic for sure, because the two afore mentioned things have not escaped me forever, but my relationship to them will never be the same as of this summer.

The first thing I am referring to, I imagine is going to seem pretty nerdy. It is in fact, the last Harry Potter movie. I know, I know. You are probably laughing at your computer screen right now, or trying to click out of this page out of an immediate loss of interest, but hear me out.

It’s not so much the movies that I care about or have a strong emotional tie to, but the stories that J. K. Rowling so magically (pun intended I suppose) weaved together. The movies are simply the visual representation of characters and scenes that I have been playing in my head since my sophomore year of high school.

I will NEVER forget the moment I opened Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the first time! I have that exact copy on my computer desk in front of me now, and it brings tears to my eyes. You have to understand where I was at that time in my life, in order to comprehend why this book and the subsequent stories that followed are so important to me.

My parents had gotten divorced my freshman year and my entire life was turned upside down. I went from an extremely strict Christian home, to a very lax home due to my mother always being at work in order to provide for my brother and me on her own.

Then, at some point during my sophomore year, I joined my brother and mother at a school book fair at Rolle Elementary School. I saw the book on one of the displays and the cover immediately caught my attention. I was a very lost and downright depressed child at that point with the total upheaval of my family life the year prior and after reading the jacket cover I simply had to escape with Harry to Hogwarts.

My mother consented to purchase the book for me even though I know she didn’t have extra money just laying (or lying? I can never remember.) around. We then left the book fair and went straight to her Post Office union meeting in the two story business building on 4^th Avenue across the street from the Good Will. On the top step of that building I opened the book and dove head first into Harry’s world.

No, the Harry Potter series didn’t somehow make my family problems go away, but it did give me a place to escape and an immense amount of joy. I loved how each book created a more and more complex history of every character and how I simply had to love Snape and root for him even when I wasn’t 100% sure he was a good guy.

Those epic seven novels will forever sit on my bookshelf and undoubtedly get read into ruin. Just because the end of the movie series is at hand does not mean that my connection with these characters will cease. But none the less, every time I see a preview of this last movie, I get all sentimental and remember how it all started for me.

The second thing I mentioned at the beginning of this blog is a much more concrete loss. I have lost the physical closeness of a friend.

Aindrea Muldoon will always be considered my friend, NO matter where she lives, but now she is not in the proximity to catch a movie with me, or go out to eat, or even walk around Hastings with, as silly as that might sound to anyone but the two of us.

If I have to lose her though, I have definitely lost her in the best way possible. She has run away with her love and moved to England.

I am an avid lover of Jane Austen and there is something so Austonian (I think I just made that up, or I spelled it wrong.) in their love. I am extremely happy for the two of them, and wish them all the glee in the world. But I am of course a little selfish, and am sad to have seen the end of our era of friendship in the same town.

As a memorial to our silliness over the years, I wanted to share a few of our favorite memories.

1.       Squishy noodles – Aindrea and I met in college. We were both taking NAU classes (a joke) to get our Bachelor’s in Education. We would get out of class close to 10pm and since I lived across the street from the college we would hit up my place for late night grub. One night we found some Italian Cheesy Shells Hamburger Helper. We heated up those seemingly dull left-overs and found ourselves lost in giggles when Aindrea discovered that they made the funniest squishing noise when you poked the noodles with your fork. I am in fact laughing now at how lost in raptures we were at that moment.

2.       Doodles in class – Aindrea and I were the worst students. I would have hated to have us in my class. We would place ourselves in the back of the class and draw stick figures, dinosaurs, wheelchairs, and other randomness and then giggle like little 12 year olds at what the other had drawn. It was quite ridiculous. In fact, at a couple points, when I felt pressure from the professor to at least act like I was paying attention, I would sit away from her and try to be a more model student. It never worked because then we would just text each other the entire time! (As an aside, I had honors all through college so our silliness never affected my education.)

3.       Harry Potter – As mentioned at the beginning of this very long blog, I love Harry Potter. So does my Aindrea, and we immediately began dissecting all things HP. We would have Harry Potter movie marathons after class got out in the evening and it NEVER failed that before the first movie was over, one of us or both would be passed out asleep. I cannot help but laugh right now at the insane amount of times we tried to go through all the movies. We never got through them though. We would decide mid way through one film that we just HAD to have Dairy Queen. Out the door we would go. If it wasn’t ice cream it was something else. We were living by the seat of our pants.

4.       Boys – We were both heartbroken at some point during our friendship and we spent many an evening trying to dissect why our significant others were not everything we thought they should be and more. Why did he say that? What made him act this way? You know how girls are… We could spend hours talking and crying over something. But in the end it has all worked out wonderfully in that respect. I couldn’t be happier at our love lives now!

Unfortunately though, life changes. We graduated from college and had to get full time teaching jobs. That leaves less time to sit around and do nothing, that is for sure. Then I got married. And then I had a baby. As life changed for each of us, we had less time for each other. I know on my end, that the feelings have not changed. Time just wasn’t as readily available. And I don’t for a second believe that her feelings changed either. Life just has a way of pulling you in a million directions and that makes relationships hard to maintain.

In the end, I regret losing a friend in proximity, but I delight in the fact that we can stay close though our society’s profusion of technology. Our relationship will change forever, but I am so extremely happy to see her go because it is due to a new amazing relationship that she is forging!

I love you Miss Muldoon! I won’t be able to call you that much longer so I need to wear it out now.  And I sadly miss you already!